CD Reviews

Weak, uneven, not impressed

W. P. Melton | 04/19/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I was excited about getting into British Mod; the culture has fascinated me for a while. The clothes, scooters and the scene in general. I though this comp would make a good intro into Mod bands and introduce me to some great, forgotten groups. I don't know how good an example this is of the mod scene, but this comp left me pretty cold towards the whole scene.

I'm not sure if all, but most of the bands here are Mod-revival bands; i.e. from the short-lived Mod-revival craze that emerged in the wake of punk in Britain. As a result a lot of the bands sound a lot like The Jam. The decent ones can pull off a pretty good immitation of early Jam (some of the songs sound like they could be cuts from "This is the Modern World"...a dubious compliment). Some of the better ones are able to come up with a new spin on the Jam's sound, it's enjoyable but not enough to make me want to get their album.

There are also a few groups where it's very apparent that they used to be a punk band, saw they could make more money by being Mods, changed their name and their sound slightly. A few of the groups sound like watered down Buzzcocks at best.

The vast majority of the songs lack any sort of hook or riff or catchy melody. The lyrics tend to be pretty pedestrian, typical teenage fare about girls and maybe parents...with references to suits and scooters to let you know this is MOD and not just really bad pop. Many of the songs drag on for much longer than they should and so much of this comp reeks of bandwagon-jumping. So many bands sound like they formed to follow the trend, paying lipservice to the Who and the Jam, and giving cursory listens to classic Motown and Stax...the genres that DEFINED Mod. Weak 3rd-tier attempts at R&B basslines, cliched songwriting, tired guitar-handbook chord progressions, and egregious, unnecessary usage of handclaps and call-and-response breakdowns; these are just a few pieces of examples that show most of these groups don't know their source material nor their history.

If you want to get into Mod music and culture, stick with the 60's stuff:The Who, The Kinks, The Creation, The Action all these groups have substantially more talent and energy than 95% of the groups demonstrate on this comp. If you want to check out more recent Mod groups, just stick with the Jam, or Chisel (Ted Leo's old band), they're considerably more interesting than what's offered here. Or better yet! Go get yourself some classic soul, jazz and R&B, what the real original Mods listened too! Stax and Motown are good places to start, then work your way from there.

The reason I didn't just give this one star is because, despite its flaws, there are still some solid tracks. The Accidents, The Amber Squad, Purple Hearts and a handful of others prevent this from being a total waste of time. Perhaps they would make this purchase worthwhile but I would download it if your curiousity is just too great. Otherwise, don't bother."

Definitive Mod Collection

Todd Lucas | 09/08/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a suburb collection capturing the Mod craze from 1979 - 1983. Many good groups are on here. For example, Small World has been labeled one of the best Mod groups of the era. This is great for anyone who has had their fill of The Jam. ;-)"

A Nice Collection of Mod Rock

Todd Lucas | Southern Illinois, USA | 11/03/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I spotted this two disc set at a local store and decided to take a chance on it. If you like The Jam, mod rock in general, the early Who or even punk, circa 1977, then this is for you. I found a few new favorites here, like the Amber Squad track. Honestly, there are many strong tracks. Recommended...Thought I'd add to my review to say that this collection is now available as part of a 3 CD set called "Mod Box". You get these two discs plus one more at a greatly reduced price! (...)"